Question about hdtv and tivo

[jlee745]

I am fixing to buy my first hdtv and do not understand alot of it.. My question is if I get the hd directv receiver and I have it hooked thru my series 2 tivo will my picture quality not be good.. I love my tivo features and do not want directv version of it but I also don't won't to pay all that money to upgrade the tv and not have a pretty picture..

[Mike Farrington]

The Tivo S2 will not record or display high definition video. Standard definition only.

The S3 is capable of high def, but is not compatible with satellite television.

[jlee745]

Ok (im not as stupid as this may sound but I want to get it straight) if I get the tv and the directv hd receiver the tivo will no longer work. So the tivos will no longer be any good when analog is gone in a few years?

[Mike Farrington]

If your DirecTV receiver downconverts HD matterial to SD via its S-Video or composite outputs, then your S2 can record it.

When analog goes away in a few years, the S2 will still be quite useful. The FCC isn't mandating that everything go HD, just digital. Digital != HD. The S2 can still record losts of content when using a STB (set top box). The S2's will only be affected for those who use analog coax input for cable. Traditional S2 users will be forced to use some sort of STB, and S2DT users will be reduced to a single tuner.

Your S2 can serve you for many more years. It just can't handle HD. It just wasn't designed for it.

Lots of people are opting for FIOS instead of DirecTV because they want to use the Series3 Tivo. If its available in your area, you should look into it. Of course, cable is also an option. But it all depends on what your local offerings are and how the cost comparisons break down for you.

[gastrof]

I am fixing to buy my first hdtv and do not understand alot of it.. My question is if I get the hd directv receiver and I have it hooked thru my series 2 tivo will my picture quality not be good.. I love my tivo features and do not want directv version of it but I also don't won't to pay all that money to upgrade the tv and not have a pretty picture..


If you use an HD receiver with a Standard Def television device (like a S2 TiVo), you'd have to set the HD receiver to output an SD picture so the SD device can work with the signal.

This means the S2 would be recording in Standard Def.

The programming from the HD channel would be there, but not the HD picture quality.

In turn, the TiVo would only have an SD signal to pass on to your HD television.

Some have complained that SD signal sources look bad on HD televisions, others have said you just have to know how to adjust the picture, and it can be acceptably viewable.

Still, if you got an HD TV to use with an HD satellite box, putting a SD TiVo between them really puts a crimp into things, since you'll never be able to use an HD output from the HD souce.